Prepare Students to Learn

Get­ting Start­ed with Your Course

This page cov­ers items to help stu­dents be suc­cess­ful in your class­es.

1.	Orienting Students to the Course Outline The course out­line is not just a con­tract between the instruc­tor and stu­dents. Its main pur­pose is to ensure stu­dents under­stand the pur­pose of the course, what they will learn in it, and how and when they will demon­strate their learn­ing. Walk stu­dents through the course out­line to ensure every­body has a shared under­stand­ing of how the learn­ing will unfold. Con­sid­er­ing mak­ing these dynam­ic expe­ri­ences that involve stu­dents. Resource: Uni­ver­si­ty of Pitts­burgh — Five Activ­i­ties to Encour­age Stu­dents to Engage with the Syl­labus
2.	Student Expectations Stu­dents should be aware of their respon­si­bil­i­ties as learn­ers. This includes meet­ing the con­duct expec­ta­tions out­lined in Pol­i­cy 3–06 to main­tain “a cul­ture of integri­ty, mutu­al respect and respon­si­ble behav­iours.” It also means active­ly par­tic­i­pat­ing in their learn­ing. Instruc­tors can remind stu­dents of their respon­si­bil­i­ties and the sup­ports avail­able to help them meet these expec­ta­tions. Resource: NIC Code of Con­duct Pol­i­cy 3–06 Resource: Learn Any­where Page — Learn­er Respon­si­bil­i­ties
3.	Student Supports NIC pro­vides sup­ports such as: Coun­selling, Elders in Res­i­dence, Peer Tutors, Ear­ly Assist and Thrive Stu­dents have a vari­ety of needs and North Island Col­lege has many sup­ports in place to help learn­ers suc­ceed, includ­ing a Depart­ment of Acces­si­ble Learn­ing Ser­vices to ensure that stu­dents with spe­cif­ic learn­ing needs have the accom­mo­da­tions they need Resource: Ensure you Add the Stu­dent Sup­ports Mod­ule to your Bright­space Course Resource: NIC Stu­dent Well­ness Ser­vices
4.	First Day Activities Effec­tive first day activ­i­ties help to build con­nec­tions with and between stu­dents and estab­lish the learn­ing cul­ture. Start your course off right by incor­po­rat­ing engag­ing and inclu­sive first day activ­i­ties into your cours­es. Resource: Teach Any­where Page — First Day(s) of Class­es
5.	Metacognition Help stu­dents become more aware of their think­ing as learn­ers by fos­ter­ing metacog­ni­tion in your cours­es. Strong metacog­ni­tive skills enhance learn­ing by enabling indi­vid­u­als to reflect on their own think­ing process­es, allow­ing them to strate­gize, self-mon­i­tor, and adapt their approach­es for bet­ter prob­lem-solv­ing and under­stand­ing. Resource: Teach Any­where Page: Metacog­ni­tive Teach­ing Resource: Make stu­dents aware of Learn Any­where Resource Page (includ­ing 6 key): Learn­ing Strate­gies